<p>Hi! I have a few quicks questions about Berkeley engineering that I'm hoping someone can answer before I have to commit to a school.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How is the workload at Berkeley? On average, how much will a mechanical engineering student need to study each day?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it reasonable to have a social life and still do well in engineering? Is there any truth to the stereotype that many Berkeley engineering students will stay cooped up in their room all day?</p></li>
<li><p>If I want to enter the field of aerospace engineering, is there any aerospace-related research available to undergraduates at Berkeley? Does a Berkeley mechanical engineering hold very much weight in the aerospace industry?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you very for your time! I appreciate any feedback, even you aren't an expert on Berkeley's mechanical engineering program!</p>
<p>The stereotype seems to apply to engineering students everywhere, but it may or may not be true depending on your study skills and time management skills.</p>
<p>Nominally, a full 15 unit course load should take about 45 hours per week, including both in-class and out-of-class time. In practice, actual time is probably somewhat less, but some courses (those with labs or term projects) tend to be higher work than others.</p>
<p>For actual research, look in the departmental web pages of each school to check what faculty are up to.</p>
<p>But if you are a resident of the state of Washington (as implied by a reference to Running Start by your other posts), why not go to the University of Washington at in-state price?</p>
<p>I want to go out and do a new thing, and my parents are happy to pay for me to go out-of-state. I strongly considered the U.W. Honors Program, but I don’t think it is right for me. I want to go somewhere that will really challenge me, and judging from the students who will attend the UW from my school, I don’t think it will challenge me like Michigan or Berkeley would. (I know that comes off as really pompous haha)</p>
<p>Ultimately, I decided to attend Michigan, but thank you very much for all your advice. I think that having a large aerospace program will give me access to more research, internships, and industry connections than U.C. Berkeley, which does not even have an aerospace major. More importantly, I think it is a better fit for me.</p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>